Online Social Media Communication: the Effect of Having Privacy Violation Experience on Online Behavior

Abstract

Objective. To analyze the effect of privacy violation experience on privacy-protective behaviors Background. In the era of rapid development of Internet technologies, privacy issues call for scientific reflection. Understanding the factors that regulate online user behavior might assist in elaborating the adequate privacy policy. Study design. Regression analysis provides a parametric evaluation of the effect of privacy experience on usage of privacy settings. Various matching technics were applied for preliminary balancing of the control (N=215) and treatment groups (N=160) by a set of key covariates. Participants. Users of the largest Russian online social network VKontakte from the Russian city Vologda. The sample size is 375 respondents (55% female) from 16 to 83 age (Mean=32,5; Med.=31; SD=12,9). Measurements. Both survey data on privacy experience and observed behavioral data on privacy settings from users’ online accounts were used. Additionally, the scale of P. Totterdell & D. Holman on propensity to make social connection and M. Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale were adopted in the study Results. The experience of privacy violation does not lead to the cautious behavior online: the users tend to regulate only the access to the public posts on profile due to past bad experience. The privacy settings literacy turns significantly affect the usage of privacy settings. Conclusions. The findings support the “privacy paradox” hypothesis. As having specific online privacy management skills encourages more cautious behavior online, digital literacy interventions can improve the safety of social networking sites.